Daily Scripture

Scripture:

Isaiah 6:1-8
Matthew 10:24-33

Reflection:

Don’t Be Afraid

After naming the apostles, Matthew gives us a teaching, a reflection, on ministering. We go as sheep among wolves, there will be persecution, even betrayal. We are given the hopeful refrain, “Do not be Afraid”.

Pope Francis’ Easter reflections speak of fear. The women who leave Jesus’ empty tomb are afraid and that prevents them from realizing the Resurrection, that Christ was alive. Perhaps it was Mary Magdalene’s fear that prevented her from knowing it was Jesus who was with her? Fear keeps us from seeing Jesus walking with us; fear keeps us from hearing the voice of Our Lord. Perhaps to provoke a smile, Francis describes us as often being bat-Christians who prefer the dark instead of being joyful Christians basking in the light of the Risen Lord. Do not be afraid.

What causes our fear? Control is one cause. If God is your copilot, you ought to change seats! God’s love brings us to be, is with us always, and will be God’s joy and our joy that we share for eternity. The dying and rising of Jesus helps us to see the Father’s love at work, and Jesus is the way to the Father. At times we may try to improve upon God’s love by taking control. Please, let me do it my way.

How do we try to control things? I left the Jamaica, New York parish a few weeks ago to take the place of the pastor at St. Gabriel’s parish in Toronto. The pastor is enjoying a jubilee and sabbatical, I am enjoying a wonderful opportunity to minister in a new parish among welcoming people. But I agonized for days trying to pack. Without this or that I will not survive. Worse, I became a pest seeking a full proof letter of some sort of legitimacy to pass through immigration. One came via email from the bishop shortly before I left. Now in control of my destiny, my bags were overflowing. The plane was landing when I realized I had forgotten to print the letter. Not good! The gentleman at immigration was very kind and didn’t seem at all interested in listening to my litany of woe as he motioned me on from his immigration booth.

Wanting to be in control makes us worry a lot about ourselves. Do I have all I need?

I better take just a little more. No wonder Jesus tells the missionaries don’t take much with you. You’ll be surprised how well things will work out.

Control brings inflexibility. Missionaries need to be flexible. When young, I studied liturgy, suffered through calls of being a ‘Nazi’ and now the whispers of ‘irrelevant.’ Oh well, sobering truths. They remind me that control and inflexibility get in the way of bringing joy to persons when we are privileged to celebrate the mysteries of God’s love. An embarrassing example taught me how control and inflexibility can get in the way: I simply didn’t allow a bishop to give a homily – a generous, worn and holy missionary who came into our midst unannounced one Sunday morning. I was in control of the Sunday Mass! But he lovingly taught me. He spoke humbly after communion. His was the life-giving word to us all that Sunday morning. He was more kind to me than I deserved. He was not afraid. He traveled light, and he did not need to be in control.

Fr. William Murphy, CP is a member of Immaculate Conception Community in Jamaica, New York.

Scripture:

Hosea 14:2-10
Matthew 10:16-23

Reflection:

This week we have been listening to the words of the prophet Hosea; words which catch our attention—and touch our souls. Hosea’s message was very much about mercy; “Don’t worry, I know you’ve put your trust in other gods, return to me!” “Forget about it, let me love you freely, return to me!” Through his words we hear the Lord saying to us, “return to me.” Return can be translated in this context and taken to mean, “repent” or “rethink.”

Scripture scholars remain unclear about the order of the original writings yet, how wonderfully he weaves his phrases bringing deep consolation to capture our imagination and our hearts. God loves us—each of us—with the love of a spouse, even as we are unfaithful, it simply doesn’t matter if we only but return to the Lord. It is quite unbelievable to our human way of thinking.

Our Gospel today is situated in the Mission section of Matthew as Jesus instructs his apostles in how they are to go and what to expect. The text is very similar to Mark’s Gospel in chapter 13 with its apocalyptic end times predictions of family strife. So, the consequence of bringing the message of the merciful love of God as we hear in the first reading comes at a cost; it certainly did for Jesus. Here he prepares to send them out “like sheep in the midst of wolves” (v.16), but they are to be as “shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” As if he is saying, above all, know how to avoid causing harm.

When I reflect on this verse, what I hear is to keep myself from crossing the line. I recently listened to a presentation by Fr. Greg Boyle S.J., the founder of Homeboy Industries, where he challenged the audience by suggesting that if we couldn’t see Jesus Christ in everyone, how could we possibly call ourselves Christians? Might this mean keeping our hearts right when we feel like spewing angry words, especially in our current polarized climate; where we seem to have lost our sense of dialog and respect. Instead, can we trust that the Spirit of our Father can speak through us; in fact, desires to speak through every one of us! Can we be a prophetic voice in our times? Can we begin to listen to each other?

What an incredibly uplifting story from Thailand! How miraculous to know that we can come together against huge odds and save lives. I believe the miracle came as a result of the collaboration and the deep desire to rescue those boys trapped in the underground cave. We celebrate even as we pause to honor the diver who gave his life in the process. May he rest in Peace.

A recent quote I read fits well here: “There is no power equal to a community discovering what it cares about.” Margaret Wheatly

May the community of our Earth come to discover what it cares about. May we be channels of God’s Peace. Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the Earth through us. Amen.

Jean Bowler is a retreatant at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre, California, and a member of the Office of Mission Effectiveness Board of Holy Cross Province.

Scripture:

Hosea 11:1-4, 8e-9
Matthew 10:7-15

Reflection:

Jesus said to his Apostles:
As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. -Matthew 10:7-8

“Wait a minute, you’re too young! What are you doing here at senior lunch?” He said he was a guest of Bill, one of our servers for the day. I sat down with him and we chatted. He was visiting in Chicago for his first time and would be leaving in a couple of days. He started telling me about himself and of his life in Bahrain. He is in his thirties, a college graduate from a London School and works as a manager for a private company in Bahrain that provides him with not only a living wage, but also a home, a car, a driver and a cook to prepare his meals. He is a Bahrain citizen and a Christian, a minority group there.

As I began reflecting on today’s gospel selection from Matthew, I recalled the above encounter. If I had someone taking care of my rent, providing my car and preparing my meals as well as providing me with an education, health care when I needed it and a retirement income, I probably could actually follow these suggestions of Jesus, namely going about my daily business just worrying about doing my best to take care of the sick, those with disabilities and to preach the Good News. That has never been my situation.

Then again, maybe it has. Yes, I’ve had to provide for paying my college tuition, my rent (mortgage), health insurance and retirement benefits. Looking back, somehow though, I was always able to do this with the help of my family and community and actually have a little bit left over for fun and amusement. Having been a teacher and a salesman, I believe I was taking care of people, the contemporary equivalent of what Matthew was referring to in the first century Jerusalem.

Jesus, your commands, at first, seem so outrageous in my world today, as well as impossible to achieve. Help me to do my part in proclaiming your Good News, healing the sick, comforting the doubtful and doing my best to make sure everyone, rich or poor, man or woman, citizen or immigrant is welcome in your—our–community.

Dan O’Donnell is a Passionist Partner and a longtime friend of the Passionists.  He lives in Chicago.  

Scripture:

Hosea 10:1-3,7-8, 12
Matthew 10: 1-7

Reflection:

“Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain down justice upon you.” Hosea 10:12

In our world, divided by war, street and domestic murders, environmental destruction, physical and mental illness, homelessness, hunger, racism, bigotry, loneliness, political propaganda, calumny and despair, what gives you hope?

The news each day is enough to diminish or even extinguish our transforming Christian faith. The litany of dark, breaking stories can push us to protect ourselves and our loved ones in selfish silos of entertainment like sports, fine food, music, movies, video games and manic schedules that prohibit any self-reflection, let along prayer. We want more than anything not to get upset by what we feel we cannot control or change.

Today’s important readings challenge us to resist the temptation to distraction and withdrawal.

Hosea, the 8^th century BCE prophet, lived in a time of Israel’s affluence. “The more abundant his (Israel’s) fruit, the more altars he built. The more productive his land, the more sacred pillars he set up.” Hosea 10: 1-3.

But the altars and pillars were façades. “Their heart is false,” Hosea states in blunt judgement. God didn’t go much for their external show of piety while they ignored social injustices in their midst. God’s chosen ones had lost their way and sought security and happiness in what could never meet their deepest longings.

In our affluent nation, where our worth is measured by our money, power and status, we are tempted in the same way the people of Hosea’s time were tempted. The crises of our time in human history are real crises. But God calls us, not to comforting escapism, but to respond the way Hosea called his people to respond: sow for yourselves justice!

In the Gospel, Jesus sends his neophyte apostles on a sort of pilot project. They are sent, not to all nations, as they will be challenged to do at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, but to their fellow Jews. They were to heal and do good works. In the next section of this Gospel, they return astonished at what God had accomplished through them in their “practice sessions.”

As post-Pentecost Christians, we are called to be nothing less than radical in letting God use us to transform our divided, weary world. We must sow justice in our homes, among our friends, in our communities, nation and world. It means responding to refugees in crisis, showing compassion for the ill, fighting for people’s right to food and water, shelter, healthcare, education, security, clean environment, a living wage and respect. This is God’s justice. We are God’s instruments in making it happen.

Each of us, in our intimate relationship with God, cultivated by prayer and study, must find our own place to do God’s work. It might be as simple as daily checking on an elderly, isolated neighbor or maybe leading a protest against racial discrimination. We might find our place teaching children or working without fee as an attorney for an poor defendant. People need homes and refugees need security, does God call us to this work?

Whatever the task, it is sacred. Experiencing God’s presence in our daily tasks give us a feeling of wholeness, a sense of why we are here, now. Doing the work also requires we let go of any sense we have to “fix” problems, which are many. We don’t fix anything, because we are not God. In humility we do what we know are called to do today and let God be God. God does the fixing, not us. This abandonment to God’s way gives us peace, even as the cable channel screams out another dark, sensational news report.

Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN) and the author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Scripture:

Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
Matthew 9:32-38

Reflection:

Thus says the LORD: They made kings in Israel, but not by my authority; they established princes, but without my approval. –Hosea 8:4

But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” -John 9:34

“Fake News,” “Alternative Facts,” “Misinformation,” It’s hard to listen today to any source of current events without wondering if you are hearing the truth. John records Jesus as saying, “The truth will set you free.” But sometimes it is difficult to determine the truth from the falsehood.

In today’s gospel we have a clear example of fake news. The Pharisees, without discerning for themselves, declare that Jesus, “drives out demons by the prince of demons.” This is obviously said to dissuade the people from listening to Jesus. They fear the growing influence Jesus has on the crowds. They see his impact and want to mitigate it. They suspect their own influence might wane if people begin to believe in Jesus. Who should the people believe? The Pharisees, who are their leaders, or this upstart?

Later in Matthew Jesus says we will “know them [the good trees] by their fruits.”  When people ask Jesus if he is the awaited Messiah, He tells them to report what they see, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” These all seem to be very good fruits.

Jesus clearly tells us to discern with our own eyes. Where do we see compassion, tenderness, kindness being expressed? These are the “good fruits” He tells us to look for.

Unfortunately, this takes effort on our part. It is easier to choose a side and stick to it, regardless of the position. But as Christians we are asked to be awake and aware of what is going on around us. We are called to look for “the good fruits” and not fall into the trap of   blindly following a particular party out of ease. My prayer for today is that I take the time and effort to discern the “good fruits” in the world around me before I choose to lend my support.

Talib Huff is a member of the retreat team at Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center In Citrus Heights, California. You can contact him at [email protected].

Scripture:

Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
John 21:20-25

Reflection:

Love Received, Love Shared

It’s July 4^th, 2022! 

For citizens of the U.S.A., this Independence Day invites us to ponder and celebrate our nation’s 246-year history and its involvement in the world today.  The Scripture selections for the liturgy of Monday in the 14^th week of Ordinary Time encourage us to pause and reflect on our faith and its impact on the realities of 21^st Century life.  God’s Life and Love are real, today, for all of us in our “Common Home”!!

Our reading from the prophet Hosea presents God’s love as that of a husband and wife:  attractive (almost seductive!), forever, forgiving, faithful, life-giving.  Human experience tells us today that even the most ideal human relationship is open to growth; that growth in love entails a life-long commitment!  Hosea reminds us that God’s love is life-giving and transformative, inviting our involvement.

Jesus reveals Divine Love in today’s Gospel selection by His loving concern for the sick and dying.  He meets the synagogue leader whose young daughter had just died.  As only a parent would, the official appeals for Jesus’ help.  Jesus responds and goes to the daughter.  On the way, a woman with a chronic hemorrhage boldly reaches out in faith to simply touch His cloak in hope of healing – and she is cured!  Jesus’ words to her echo his earlier words to the synagogue leader:  have courage!  believe!  Jesus travels on and lovingly reaches out to revive the young girl.  The result:  amazing!  Jesus shares life and love with all:  the young and younger, the “important” and ordinary, poor and rich…Life that lasts!

We today gratefully celebrate our independence and our interdependence, seeking to connect with our sisters and brothers worldwide.  We need Jesus’ healing touch and encouragement:  sickness, violence, doubt, and death are all-too evident; injustice, hunger, and apathy sicken many.  As we are blessed with faith in Jesus and his Crucified Love, may His Love transform and energize each of us, motivating us to witness the life, goodness, and freedom that is ours as God’s daughters and sons.

Let the celebration begin!  God is gracious, and merciful, and loving!

Fr. John Schork, C.P. serves as the Province Vocation Director and also as Local Superior of the Passionist Community of Holy Name in Houston, Texas.  

Scripture:

Isaiah 66:10-14c
Galatians 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Reflection:

Over the course of their lives, many people will wrestle with their desires for position, power, privilege, and prestige.

These desires, or indeed often ‘drives’, will surface again and again in the journey of life. They are constantly present to us – be it in family settings or in the workplace and in public or community service roles. Parents will need to temper these desires and use them wisely in family relationships and roles, partners will need to exercise them carefully in building their loving relationships, people entrusted with roles of a fiduciary nature have a special obligation to be aware of such drives and to moderate them accordingly.

Such desires are not of themselves wrong, we all seek to enhance our selves and to expand our horizons. The danger lies in those hidden, unreflected, or undisciplined moments in life when needs can overwhelm good judgment and we rush towards something that seems to fill the void we feel.  In such moments we can align ourselves with unrestrained desire to self-promote, or to misuse our power, or to be selfish in seeking privilege or act only to win prestige – all at the expense of our better self and the good of others.

On the other hand, a good use of our positions of influence, a ‘shepherd-like’ exercise of one’s personal or institutional power, a service-oriented attitude to the privileges one enjoys and a healthy humility in the face of the prestige afforded to us, are truly gospel responses.  For in the vision of Jesus such attitudes and approach to service underpin all our actions. For Jesus generosity and self-sacrifice need to accompany all positions of trust.

Thus, today we read of his commission to the seventy-two. They are truly blessed – indeed they are to be his emissaries, literally sent out ahead of Jesus to represent him and prepare the way for him. The details of their commission are more suited to the life and conditions of first century missionaries in Palestine, and we do not have to imitate those actions – wise as they are. Rather we are invited to imitate the attitudes behind the actions – not seeking our own prestige or privileges, not pursuing only our own agendas and not being weighed down by the trappings of office.

The Lord needs disciples who are discerning, who are capable of carrying out the task of missionary evangelisation, who are capable of humility, self-discipline, and prudential judgements and who bear the peace of Christ within their own self and radiate this same peace to all they encounter.

Jesus needs disciples who are not easily side-tracked or seduced by the ‘trappings’ that accompany one’s role, but rather possess an innate capacity to put others first. Just as he did.

Fr. Denis Travers, C.P., is a member of Holy Spirit Province, Australia.

Scripture:

Amos 9:11-15
Matthew 9:14-17

Reflection:

People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.  -Matthew 9:17

In Jesus’ time, they did not put wine in glass bottles like we do. A wineskin was made of the complete hide of an animal, such as a goat or a sheep. New wine was put into new wineskins, because as it ferments, it generates carbon dioxide gas that exerts pressure on the skin bottles. New skins expand; old, inflexible ones burst under the pressure. Everyone knew that new wine needed to go into new wineskins. So, in drawing attention to the need for new wineskins, what is Jesus telling us about our life with Him?

I believe Jesus is calling us to wholeheartedness and also a willingness to change, to be flexible. He is describing the process of conversion. Half-hearted pouring of our new commitment into the old containers of our lives will not do; they are just not flexible enough to meet the challenges for growth and change. When an addict joins Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), they commonly hear this at their first AA meetings: “Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.”  (AA Big Book) Recovery from addiction and discipleship with Jesus both require wholehearted commitment and willingness to change our lives.

The call to conversion can come from a crisis close to home like addiction, or a crisis as large as our planet. Earth, our common home, is in crisis with climate change resulting in “100 year” fires, droughts, and floods. We are in the midst of a Great Extinction where, if the current rate of human destruction of Creation continues, one-half of Earth’s higher lifeforms will be extinct by 2100. In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis identifies our current ecological crisis as a “summons to profound interior conversion.” What everyone needs, he writes, is an “‘ecological conversion,’ whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them.” Pope Francis is calling Catholics to this conversion.

Pope Francis is praying for this grace of the Holy Spirit, this conversion, so that we will have the flexibility to change and live into the Laudato Si’ Goals (https://laudatosiactionplatform.org/) promulgated for the whole church in 2021. The Laudato Si’ Goals call for “new wineskins” in the areas of economics, education, spirituality, lifestyles, and community participation. And if our ecological conversion is wholehearted, it will include every aspect of our lives, especially our understanding of, and our expressions of our intertwined relations with God, self, others, and Earth.

Patty Gillis is a retired Pastoral Minister. She served on the Board of Directors at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. She is currently a member of the Laudato Si Vision Fulfillment Team and the Passionist Solidarity Network.